Saturday, July 19, 2014

What made her decide to be an erotica author?

Simple.

How else was she going to parlay her two favorite past times into a career?

Emma is single and loving it. Like her first character, Alysin, Sin for short, she doesn't believe in settling or in settling down. She loves to indulge in her passions whenever the mood strikes and enjoys keeping all of life's cliche moments spicy.

Known for her sense of humor, Emma surrounds herself with friends whose antics often become the source of book fodder. Her ideal situation would be to explore the Caribbean while writing. She pursues that dream daily.

When Willow Stone discovers that she is in competition with the exotic and worldly Molina for the coveted position of sex advice columnist, she realizes it's time to up her game. Though she has impeccable writing skills, there's no denying that a lifetime of being the good girl has left her ill prepared for this position. Realizing it's her lack of experience that will keep her from achieving this dream, she decides to proposition the bad boy who once lived in her college dorm that always had a stream of women doing the walk of shame from his room on a nearly nightly basis. Surely someone that shallow, that experienced, and that wildly attractive could teach her a thing or twenty.Only Wyatt has his own plans, and they don't allow much time for teaching Willow what she would already know if she could just break free of the cool, calculating, proper demeanor that was part of being a Stone. His reputation has served him well through the years and being the black sheep of his family has never bothered him. What does, however, is Willow. She is a mystery to unravel, a present to be cherished, a young woman who just might rock his world by bringing him back into his family's fold. She was everything they wanted for him and precisely what he had avoided since he started dating.What will happen when the good girl gets mixed up with the bad boy?

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When Willow Stone discovers that she is in competition with the exotic and worldly Molina for the coveted position of sex advice columnist, she realizes it's time to up her game. Though she has impeccable writing skills, there's no denying that a lifetime of being the good girl has left her ill prepared for this position. Realizing it's her lack of experience that will keep her from achieving this dream, she decides to proposition the bad boy who once lived in her college dorm that always had a stream of women doing the walk of shame from his room on a nearly nightly basis. Surely someone that shallow, that experienced, and that wildly attractive could teach her a thing or twenty.

Only Wyatt has his own plans, and they don't allow much time for teaching Willow what she would already know if she could just break free of the cool, calculating, proper demeanor that was part of being a Stone. His reputation has served him well through the years and being the black sheep of his family has never bothered him. What does, however, is Willow. She is a mystery to unravel, a present to be cherished, a young woman who just might rock his world by bringing him back into his family's fold. She was everything they wanted for him and precisely what he had avoided since he started dating.

What will happen when the good girl gets mixed up with the bad boy?

Who doesn't know The Good Girl? At some time in everyone's life, there has been that perfect person you love to hate - one with impeccable manners, great brains, flawless plans for the future, and physical beauty to boot. But news flash to us imperfect people: they're human, too.

College senior Willow Stone has had a mantra drummed into her head her entire life. Being a Stone is hard work, because a Stone is perfect. No mistakes, no deviations, no emotions, no mess. It's served her well up to a few weeks before graduation, when she was in competition with fellow intern Molina for a rare opening at an up-and-coming magazine.

She's a brilliant writer but the topic is one thing she has absolutely no idea about. Sex. How can she give advice about people's sexual problems while being an innocent? Then, inspiration strikes. Research leads her to a curious list: Fifty Things to Do Sexually Before You Die. Interesting stuff, but who to do said research with?

Wyatt just might solve that problem. He's not exactly a stranger since they go to the same college, but he's as different from Willow as Shakespeare is to Velikovsky. She'd spotted him with a new girl almost nightly, he's the perfect candidate who would have that much experience with sex.

Wyatt agrees to help, of course, and takes charge of the entire project. Everything is strictly business until a new problem crops up. Willow thinks she's fallen in love. And where does that leave Wyatt?

I found the premise of a crash course in sex interesting and I'm so very glad my hunch was right. It started veeerrryyy slowly, though, worrying me a little in the beginning. That, and the fact that Willow kept referring to herself as a Stone began to get a bit irritating. Thankfully, the pace picked up as soon as Wyatt entered the picture.

Willow is understandably uptight because of her upbringing and constantly struggles to let loose around Wyatt. He makes it a point to seduce her thoroughly, making everything perfect for her, leaving her wondering exactly how much of a bad boy he is.

It was fun reading how badly she struggled against herself while gratifying to realize that it was insecurity and shyness that made her so cold. You root for them to finally open their eyes and see their future staring them in the face. By the end, you wonder exactly how much of the book is real!

This is where it becomes obvious: The Good Girl is good for the bad boy.

“Where were we?”

“I think we had just established my sordid past and utter lack of experience,” I said sarcastically.

“Ah, yes,” he said as he tapped his finger on the counter. “Now, why is this experience so important to you?”

Confused, I tried to decide how to answer that. “I want this column so badly…” I shrugged. “It’s expected that I do something with my degree and fast. Stones aren’t burdens on society…” My voice trailed off.

“So, you are battling a lifetime of expectations and family lectures about your station in life?” He smirked. “I know a little something about that.”

Obviously, I let that go because...how could he possibly? Oh, but the house. “Who does the garage belong to...the one you live above?” Then I leaned over and waited patiently for a response.

“Ah, that inquiring mind. You don’t need a sex column; you need to be an investigative reporter.” He laughed. “Yeah, it’s my parents’.” He wiped down the bar before adding to it. “I’m an Evans.” Then he winked at me.

Apparently I was supposed to know what that meant and because of it, who he was. What I gathered was that it was like being a Stone. My heart went out to him. “So, you understand the dangers of not living up to expectations. Please understand, I don’t look at this column as anything more than a stepping stone in my career. I’m not sure where I want to take the degree, but I love writing. I love helping people. This meets all those criteria.”

For some reason, I didn’t want to see his face. I just wanted to think for a minute. He had struck a nerve. Why did I need that job? It would force me to stretch myself. There was something about a challenge. Then, there was sheer, utter, simple curiosity. I was the only one of my friends who was practically still a virgin. When we gathered together on holiday breaks, I was the one who never had a boyfriend, who never had sexcapades to relay, who sat back and tried to pretend to understand these foreign objects and experiences they talked about. I hated it. Then I smiled. As I stared in front of me, another piece of my phone had appeared.

“Can I see the list?” He asked seriously.

Shaking my head, I refused. “No. It’s too...humiliating.”

“Dammit woman, I can look it up online, but it’s just easier if you share the print copy. Okay?” He scowled at me for a moment. Then as I pushed the paper toward him, he smirked. After studying it for a moment, he looked up at me. “One night stand?”

“Nope. I knew them. It was a date. It just never went beyond that.” I stared at him evenly, trying not to give away any emotion.

“Did you like them?” He asked. “Either of them?”

Taking a deep breath, I said, “Not really. I just felt like...it was time. There wasn’t a crush, a bunch of love letters, phone calls, any of that. The first was prom. And for lack of a better defense, everyone was doing it.” I let out a hollow laugh. “The second, was a house party after graduation.”

“Drunk?” He asked, perplexed.

“No, but he was. This one was someone that my family approved of and had been pushing me toward for years. I just kind of gave in.” I sighed. “Does any of this make sense?”

“Honestly, no. I can’t understand how someone as beautiful as you could possibly think of settling for less than every single thing she deserved. Forget about your parents. What do you want?” He stood there, challenging me.

It was no longer about the phone, no longer about the game of Truth or Truth. I had to answer. We were really talking. “I’m not sure I know. I don’t know if my life has ever been about what I want.”

“What if we try to figure that out, together? And...what if I help you with this list?” He asked.